26 Moments
by DietCokeHead
Summary: 26 snapshots from the life of Rose and her Doctor post-"Journey's End", told in a non-linear fashion. Spoilers for "Journey's End", obviously. First ever Who fic!


**A/N: **First ever Who-fic! After _Journey's End_, I had such mixed feelings about the end of Doc/Rose that I needed to sort out their future for myself mentally, and putting it on paper seemed like the best way to do that.

The storytelling is a bit abstract and is definitely non-linear: these vignettes are _not_ in chronological order. It was quite enjoyable to write, and I hope, for your sake, enjoyable to read. Reviews and constructive criticism are, of course, welcome.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own _Doctor Who_ or anyone in it. All props to Rusty T Davies.

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**Ape:** The only thing preventing him from lashing out at the stupid ape behind the desk is the sudden, sweet, presence of Rose's hand on his shoulder. So he unclenches his fist, and pretends to be patient as the man explains why it is impossible to get a mortgage without any proper form of identification.

**Bashful: **The very first night he spends in her universe, she stands in front of her bedroom door, blushing, unsure of whether she should ask him in- if he wants it, or even, truthfully, if she does.

**Counterfeit:** She opens the file in her hands, looks at the passport, birth certificate and diploma that all bear the name, "John Smith", thinks about how many illegal channels he had to pass through to become legal, and smiles.

**Driving:** "Release the clutch, _release the clutch_-no, see, now we've stalled!"

"You wouldn't have to bother with this stick shift nonsense if you would just let me tinker a bit with-"

"NO."

**Ego**: There are times when his brilliance (_there is no other word for it, really_, he thinks) places him at such odds with everyone around him that he becomes very ready to escape via some piece of technology that Torchwood hasn't recognized as worthwhile. The prospect of travel fills his head with plans and his chest with pride- until the mind that was just plotting his escape acknowledges the undeniable fact that he could never leave her again.

**Father:** He holds Tony in his arms, sees Rose smiling at him beautifully, and thinks maybe, just maybe, he's ready to be a dad again.

**Grey:** She hears his cry of delight and rushes into the bathroom, thinking perhaps he has solved the Corobanx case. Instead, she finds him grinning in front of the mirror, examining his first grey hair.

**Hers:** It is well into her third year with him when she realizes with a start that she has come to think of the man whose hand she is holding as Her Doctor, while the man in the TARDIS has become the Other Doctor.

**Impatience:** He bounces from one foot to the other and groans with frustration as they slowly make their way through airport security. Travel used to be so _easy_.

**Job:** She rubs her temples as she prepares to explain to yet another Torchwood employee that, while this may not be the _original_ Doctor, he is still overqualified for any position they could offer him.

**Keen: ** They listen to the Hshau female cry for her lost mate, while his hands tighten around Rose's waist and his throat aches with a dryness that has nothing to do with the heat of the alien planet. They return to the Torchwood ship hand-in-hand and silent.

**Lightning:** While he used to lampoon the human body for its baseness and sensitivity, he is never more grateful for it now than when he is kissing Rose, and the intensity of feeling strikes his body in a way he never could have appreciated as a Time Lord.

**Magic**: "I'm telling you, it's impossible for a magician to be that good! Those weren't simple illusions, Rose- it was more like a…a low-wave hypnotic frequency that altered our perception, or, or _maybe_ he was using the energy of all those minds attuned onto one tiny, specific object- in this case, the coin-which is acting as a conductor for a psychic field!"

"Are you suggesting we sneak backstage and prove that he's an alien?"

"Naturally."

**Name:** In Brazil, she surprises him by interrupting his lecture on poison dart frogs to ask him his true name. In Venezuela, he surprises her as they watch the sun set over Angel Falls by telling her. She lays her head on his shoulder, and he places his hand on the small of her back, knowing they belong to one another completely.

**Old: **He watches Jackie and Pete grow older in different ways in every day, watches as their love shifts and grows with them as they age, and feels a delicious shiver of anticipation.

**Present**: She bites her thumb nervously and tries to read his expression as he stares at the telescope she bought him for his birthday (really, the day he arrived in her universe.) He gazes at the gift for a solid minute before he stands up, kisses her head, and walks out into the garden.

**Questions**: She has so much to ask him, and he dutifully answers- sometimes reluctantly, but always truthfully. Because he knows it was his ability to answer her question that won her to him at first, and that it is what makes him different (_and better_, a traitorous part of him thinks) from his traveling twin.

**Return**: Each time he returns from a mission, she tackles him in the doorway, squealing with delight and relief. Each time she returns from a mission, he is already waiting on the roof, ready to wave down her helicopter, or receive her directly if she's teleporting. Denied a proper reunion the first time, they seize these opportunities with gusto.

**Stupid: **As she dabs synthetic fibrinogen onto his shoulder, he calls himself stupid for the first time in his life-stupid for forgetting his new mortality, and stupid for almost letting Rose lose him again. But that traitorous part of him still thinks it was worth it.

**Teach**: These sensations are so new to him, and he is nearly overwhelmed with desire as his hands roam her body. The obstacles, too, are new, as buttons and zips and straps baffle his normally-deft fingers. She guides him through it all with grace and affection and humor, and as they lay in the afterglow, she thinks of all the rest she must teach him about life as a human. She remembers when she was the student, and feels an odd sense of loss.

**Unique**: After he wakes, sweating and shaking in the throes of a nightmare, and she holds him till his body relaxes and he tells her what he'd seen-after this, she knows that while there may be two of them, what she shares with this one is unique.

**Vicious: **She bolts through the door, and wrenches the gun he has pointed at the Imitation Pete from his hands. He turns to her, and there is such a cold malice in his eyes that she is momentarily afraid.

**Wedding**: The ceremony is lovely, but small. A deliberate choice on the behalf of the bride and groom, given that the groom has no one to invite.

**Xenophobia**: "I don't care if he's the president of blinkin' Solar System-I've seen what aliens can do, and I'll be havin' none of 'em on my ship!"

"He's _not_ an alien! He's a human, and I trust him completely!"

**Yearn**: The first years are marred by a mutual yearning- for the TARDIS, for travel, and for the man that they both lost in different ways.

**Zoo**: "They're _never_."

"Swear on my life!"

"You're full of it!"

"Look, if-as we've already covered-Australia doesn't have any indigenous placental mammals due to geographical isolation-evolution and all that just happened differently-then how can you explain the opossum? Its nonplacental, but from America! It hasn't got the same excuse kangaroos and echidnas have got- clearly of extraterrestrial origin! Just look at it if you don't believe me."

"I dunno… It's sort of cute, in an ugly, squidgy kind of way. Bit like you, really."

"Oh, now, that was harsh. May have to go home and lick my wounds after that."

"Shut up, I was only teasing. You're such a baby sometimes."

_Hand fastens with hand, and smile meets smile._

"I'm so glad I'm here with you."

"Me too."

"Now, then, what's next? Oh, _brilliant_! Pandas! I love pandas! Did you know, there used to be an entire sect of antimatter creatures who worshiped the panda? Of all things!"

"Go on!"

"Well, it started when I was much younger than I am now…"

_Walking through the zoo, hand in hand, complete at last._

**Fin**


End file.
